商务部、国家统计局、国家外汇管理局本周联合发布的《2008年度中国对外直接投资统计公报》显示，2008年，中国对外直接投资净额达559.1亿美元，较上年增长111%，年度对外直接投资额首次突破500亿美元。国内外律师事务所对发展跨境并购和投资业务的兴趣也随之不断高涨。
Outbound M&A work has long been hailed as the 'next big thing' among law firms, and the phenomenon has now arrived as China goes shopping world-wide for raw materials, technology, and brands.
According to a report jointly issued this week by the Ministry of Commerce, the National Bureau of Statistics and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Chinese net ODI in 2008 totaled US$55.91bn, up over 100% from the previous year. Non-financial ODI reached US$41.86bn in 2008, up 68.5% year-on-year, and financial ODI increased to US$14.bn, up by nearly 750% year-on-year.
The vast majority - over 85% - of enterprises investing overseas are state-owned. SOEs are rich in capital and low asset valuations have made now an opportune time for Chinese companies to gain a foothold in the global markets.
Most international firms located in China were initially set up to service inbound investments, yet they have been reinventing themselves to target outbound investments. "The increase in Chinese companies undertaking M&A activities offshore is a clear and growing trend, and one that plays to the strengths of international firms," said Antony Dapiran, M&A partner at Freshfields.
China's awakening has shaken the world and its outbound investment surge has indisputably been felt - not only by international but also domestic law firms. "As China's fast recovery ahead of [the] global economy has triggered a new, phenomenal cross-border M&A wave led by domestic companies, the emergence of PRC firms is a natural progression," said DeHeng's chief global partner Wang Li. "They have been increasingly assisting many notable transactions to successful completion."
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